(Fed) Late-month shutdowns due to Hurricane Ida held back industrial production in the US, with the output increasing by 0.4% in August, down from a gain of 0.8% in July.
As estimated 0.3% of industrial production reduction was attributed to Hurricane Ida, which forced plant closures for petroleum refining, petrochemicals, and plant resins.
Capacity utilization in the industrial sector surged by 0.2% to 76.4%, which is 3.2% below its long-run average between 1972 and 2020.
Manufacturing output still rose by 0.2% in August. Utilities output surged by 3.3% reflecting higher demand for air conditioning due to high warm temperatures.
Total industrial production now stands at 101.6% of its 2017 average, about 5.9% higher than last year and 0.3% above the levels before the pandemic in February 2020.
SPY is down -0.14%, DXY is down -0.17%.
